{"id":1183,"date":"2012-05-15T08:59:55","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T12:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2012-05-15T08:59:55","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T12:59:55","slug":"i-dont-want-to-be-just-mom-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/i-dont-want-to-be-just-mom-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t want to be JUST mom enough!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you’re a parent, you’ve most likely seen the newest cover of TIME Magazine<\/a>\u00a0which shows\u00a0a mother with her 3 year-old son breastfeeding while standing on a chair,\u00a0with the headline “Are you mom enough?”.\u00a0 I first took notice of it last Thursday when just about every other post on my Facebook News Feed had the picture of the cover on it with a tag line question such as “What kind of mom do you want to be?”\u00a0 While most mothers reading this were uneasy with the picture or disagreed with attachment\u00a0parenting, the majority of mothers were just plain disappointed with TIME putting out such a story, creating what is commonly referred to as “mommy wars”, especially so close to Mother’s day.\u00a0 Some mothers were so upset that they didn’t want to comment on it one way or another.\u00a0 While I understand their reason for\u00a0concern,\u00a0I think there’s nothing wrong with a healthy debate and conversation on parenting styles.\u00a0 And so, buying into the hype, I went and purchased my copy the day it hit newsstands.<\/p>\n

First off – the story.\u00a0 I read it, and I have to say, it doesn’t really have anything to do with “are you mom enough”.\u00a0 It doesn’t preach to say that attachment parenting is the best method.\u00a0 In fact, it even says that some mothers who follow attachment parenting are so caught up in the details and they read too much into it, that it drove them to feel incompetent\u00a0and perhaps, act out in extreme measures. To offer a\u00a0 quick summary, Attachment Parenting<\/a>, the idea brought to main-stream public, was made famous by Dr. Bill Sears in his book “The Baby Book<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/a>

Cover via Amazon<\/p><\/div>\n

Sears’ theory is based on the following key points: 1) Breast is Best and babies should feed on demand, 2) Parents should respond to their baby’s cries immediately, 3) parents should share their bed with their baby and 4) the importance of baby wearing.*<\/p>\n

Here’s my point of view on the whole topic.\u00a0 When I first became a mother, I promised that I would never (again) judge another mom.\u00a0 Easier said than done? Sure… do I think it’s weird that a 3 year-old is still breastfeeding? Yes.\u00a0 Is that judging? Maybe… Would people judge me if they knew that I let my son watch TV and he’s not even two years yet?\u00a0 Yes… (although\u00a0no one has told me yet to my face).\u00a0 Did people think it was weird that I swaddled my son until he was six months old?\u00a0 Sure, but did I stop?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 And that’s my point.\u00a0 Every mom<\/strong><\/span>, as long as they’re acting in the best interest of their child, no matter how different their method is from yours, should do whatever they have to do, if it’s the right thing for them and their family.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0I can’t reiterate that last sentence, or underline it, or bold it enough.\u00a0 Stop and re-read it again.\u00a0 It’s so important.\u00a0 Moms carry so much self-induced guilt and pressure as it is, the last thing we need is someone else to tell us what we’re doing is not right or what we should be doing is this and that.\u00a0 Why do we always seem to be mothering other moms?<\/p>\n

If a baby is fed, clothed and loved, does the HOW matter?\u00a0 I don’t think so.\u00a0 Being a mom is not a competition.\u00a0 Being a mom is\u00a0being the best mom that you can be; without comparison to anyone else.\u00a0\u00a0Similar to the saying “Happy wife, happy life”, there should be a saying along the lines of “Happy mom, happy family”.<\/p>\n

That’s why I’m choosing to be more than just mom enough.\u00a0 I’m choosing to be the best mom that I can be!<\/p>\n

PS. As the famous Zoolander once\u00a0said “Lucky for me no one I know reads your little TIME magazine or whatever its called.”<\/p>\n

* If you want to read the article if detail, leave me a message and I’ll e-mail you a copy.<\/p>\n

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